Vol. XVII. No. 4j7. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



•:'c<l 



are briefly summarized in the volume of the journal 

 above mentioned for Julv' IfU.S, as follows: — 



'The results of the second series of experiments 

 confirm those of the first, and lead us to the inevitable 

 conclusion that provided the stalks planted are healthy, 

 the thickness of the cane used for plants is of little 

 importance. It is evident that the'size of the stalk 

 does not indicite the hereditary potentialities it may 

 possess, and we may therefore, safely assume that a 

 rigorous selection from the point of view of healthy 

 condition and freedom from insect attacks and disease 

 is much more likely to give practical results m the 

 field than a selection based on the diameter ot the 

 oines. This is brought plainly to view in the table, 

 ^vhere we see that the average weight of stalk from 

 the two classes of cane is almost identical, as well as 

 the average yields of cane and the chemical analyses 

 of the juices. Too much care, therefore, cannot be 

 given by sugar-cane planters in selecting for health 

 rather than for size. 



The Value of Forests in Modern Warfare, 



The important part that forests are playing in the 

 present war, is thus referred to in a paper by C. 8. 

 Judd. published in the Havxiiiav Forester and Af/ri- 

 culturiist. for May 191X. In this age of coal and iron, 

 wood and other forest products, which have almost 

 innunierable uses in modern warfare, are being sought 

 morf eagerly and used more e.xtensively than ever 

 before. In thu trenches, on the road, in the air. in the 

 shipyard, in the munition factory and chemical labor- 

 atory, and in the building of cantonments, wood has 

 become a dominant factor, and never before has the 

 demand for exact knowledge on the i(uality and uses 

 of wood been so urgent. 



In modern warfare forest products are needed in 

 large quantities. The average trench requires alone 

 about 1 cubic foot of wood to 10 feet of trench, or 

 about (iO.OOO board feet to the mile, or 15 million feet 

 to the French front, exclusive of that required for 

 shelter, artillery, screens, block houses, and fuel. 



Forest industries which were on the decline or 

 entirel}' abandoned have been re\ived by the war, and 

 new uses for wood products developid. 



Wooden ships and airplanes call for special materi- 

 als, .'"^itka spruce, once a despised material, is now- 

 found almost indispensable for airplane construction, 

 furnishing long, clear, light,' )^t strong m.iterial, in 

 which failure is far less common than in the metal 

 parts. In fact, the demand for spruce wood is now so 

 great that a spruce-production division of the Signal 

 Corps has bien formed of 10.000 men to get this needed 

 commoflity from the woods to. the airplane factories. 



About iOO board feet of wood is used in the actual 

 Construction of the average airplane. To obtain this 

 material it is ordinarily necessary t<i work over about 

 l..iOOfeetof select lumber, which often represents all 

 that can be used for airplanes of lo^OOtl board feet of 

 stAndin'j; timber. 



Farming in South Africa. 



The Annual Report of the Transvaal I^and Owners'" 

 Association provides as^iusual, says The Field . an 

 instructive and well-balanfted survey of the development 

 of the farming industry ^ot only in the 'IVansvaal but 

 throughout the South ^Jfrican Union. A feature of 

 the last year or two has Seen the rapid growth of the 

 meat export trade. In 1914-, 700 quarters were 

 exported; in 191.5, .S.S.OOO ((uarters: in UtUi, 117,000- 

 quarters: and in the first ten months of the last year 

 H08,000 (juarters. The demand for land has improved, 

 and this is attributed largely to the prosperity resulting 

 from the high prices ruling for live stock and farm 

 produce generally. The tendency throughout the 

 Union appears to bs for farmers in the southern 

 occupied districts to sell their holdings at comparatively 

 high prices in order to migrate northwards to the 

 sparsely occupied districts, where at present land has- 

 appreciated in value only to a small extent. Other 

 branches of farming besifles the live stock industry are 

 showing abundant signs of vigorous life. As the 

 Chairman of the Transvaal Land Owners' As.sociation 

 said at the annual meeting at .Johannesburg on May 6: 

 'The war in matters agricultural has piovided alike an 

 opportunity and a stimulus, and whether the Empire's 

 necessity or self-interest has acted as the spur, it is 

 gratifying to find that advantage is being taken of that 

 opportunity in an ever-increasing degree. In all 

 directions one sees neglected or unconsidered industries 

 growing uo.' 



Research in Wheat Growing. 



On June 27, according to The Timti<. Mr. Prothero. 

 M.P., Minister of Agriculture, addressing a meeting of 

 the Incorporated National Association of British and 

 Irish Millers, amongst other things said: 



'The Board of Agriculture appeals to millers to 

 support a national institute for agricultural botany 

 on the coiiunercial side, working with the Plant- Breed- 

 ing Institute. As soon as we get a useful variety of 

 cereals established we want to be able to hand it over 

 to the commercial side, who will bring it out on com- 

 mercial lines, acting through the seed agents. At 

 present it takes years and years to get a new variety 

 of wheat or other cereal in the market, and our propos- 

 ed institute is vastly to accelerate this process. 



'Sir Daniel Hall, Secretary of the Board of Agricul- 

 ture, said that the Plai.t-Breeding Institute had been 

 in existence for some time, but the new Institute 

 would incorporate with the scientific side the skill and 

 commercial knowledge of the practical man. It was 

 for the miller to place before the scientist the needs, 

 difficulties, and problems of his trade. Undoubtedly 

 English wheat had been rapidly deteriorating in recent 

 years, and it was to arrest this that plant-breeding 

 research had been started, and it was now desired t'^ 

 d^-vel..i. it on the commercial side.' 



